OUT OF MY CONTROL
by Destiny Kitty
Summary: Tala is a rough, tough gang-runner and loner. Why is the boy he saves by chance so stuck in his head? AU. Tala's POV. TxR, MxK, other pairings. Action/angst?
1. The Shipwreck

**Disclaimer:** characters by Aoki Takao, distributed by VIS Media, etc.

Wow, it's been over a year since I put anything on this site. When did the new look come in? Kinda reminds me of the new dA….

To the few people reading "Ten Weeks", I apologize. I always mean to write the next bit – that story has been on my to-do list since I thought up the idea three summers ago. I even have ideas for the sequel XD

'Mkay so new story, new characters – introducing OOMC! Featuring Tala Ivanov (Yuriy Balkov), a member of a gang (not a far stretch for his personality). I started this in December.

**Warnings**: Some language, action violence?

**------**_**OUT OF MY CONTROL**_**------**

_by destinykitty_

**------Part 1------**

**The Shipwreck**

I should not have done it. And what's worse, I knew I shouldn't have done it. I told myself, this is a bad idea. Don't get involved. It will only cause more trouble later on.

Apparently I'm too stupid to even listen to myself.

I couldn't help it. This kid was the poster-child of pathetic – small, skinny, wide-eyed and pink-haired. Any boy with pink hair was asking for trouble. His round pink cheeks were a mess of tears.

He'd have made a convincing girl. Heck, if you had told me that he _was_ a girl, I probably would have believed you. Maybe that's why I _had_ to step in. Even underworlders have a sense of honor, I'll have you know.

I jumped into the fight, scared off the punks harassing the kid, gave them a warning. They were pretty pitiful themselves – had to be to pick on such an easy target. Once they'd run off, yelling back threats which I completely ignored, I turned to the kid.

I wasn't sure how much damage they had done; once the punk holding him had let go, he'd dropped to the ground and not moved away. I put a hand on his back – shivering and jumping with sharp breaths – and called, "Hey! You ok, kid?"

He didn't answer, except to pull himself tighter into a ball. I huffed a sigh and tried to speak more softly.

"Those punks are gone; I scared them off. Now are you going to get up or should I just leave you here?"

He rubbed his face into a sleeve and glanced up at me warily.

"Good. Can you stand?"

"I… I don't know." His voice was whispery and hoarse from sobbing,

I rolled my eyes heavenward, praying for patience – I was still hyped on adrenaline from the fight, which made it even more difficult to be understanding. "You want to try?"

He dropped his gaze, shuffled around a bit, then dragged himself to his feet with the help of the alley wall. I followed him up – I'm more than a head taller when we're both upright. He stood unsteadily, rubbing his eyes and shuddering.

I puffed another sigh. "Look, tell me where you live, and I'll take you home."

His lip quivered. Great.

"I'm not going to do anything to you! Besides, things can't get much worse, right?" I tried to joke. Fail. Somehow his cheeks managed to get more red, then he looked away and shook his head.

"Come on, let's go."

Between his unsteady steps and my impatience I ended up carrying him most of the way back to my motor bike –not a huge deal, since he weighed about as much as one of Kai's stray cats – and drove him home. That part I should have been compensated for at least, considering his neighborhood was Boris's territory and Boris runs a mean gang. But I didn't see anyone hostile on our way in.

Stopped in front of the apartment building he indicated, I put the kid down on the sidewalk and made sure that he could at least stand up.

"Get yourself cleaned up and go to bed – think you can make it to your place from here? Eh, you'll be fine. Just **don't** come back around my side of town again. You're probably safer up here. Ok, kid?"

"My name is Raul," he said quietly. He was eyeing me from beneath those pink bangs, green eyes no longer wet though still red from crying.

"Raul, then. Hope I don't have to use it 'cuz I'm saving your ass again."

I don't know it he was even listening to me, because over the revving of my bike's engine he called, "What's your name?"

"Tala," I replied shortly, and drove off.

------

The first sign on trouble was when I was stopped on my way out of the neighborhood. "Just passing through," I called to the group of men who forced me to stop.

"You should have gone around, lowlife," one of the men replied.

"I was enjoying the view," I drawled. It was a semi-threatening situation but I didn't care much – they had not caught me doing anything and I was still on my bike. No weapons had yet appeared.

"Pay the toll and get out," another demanded. I handed over the expected bribe, then kicked my machine back to life and disappeared into the night.

------

To my surprise and bad luck I saw the kid not two weeks later. There had been a "business" meeting that night and afterwards my friend Spencer and I decided to forget about it by getting drunk.

We had barely arrived – I was only on my second beer – when the pink-haired kid suddenly appeared out of the crowd and sat down at my table uninvited, smiling shyly. Spencer was at the bar so I was alone.

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded rudely.

Raul's smile faded somewhat and he glanced away across the room. "I came here with friends." My gaze followed his to a group of kids laughing and goofing around near the dance floor.

"You're all pretty damn young to be here. Isn't there somewhere else for you to hang out?"

"Not really," he answered, toying with a napkin on the table. "Besides," he continued, evidently drawing up his courage, "you're not that much older than me."

"Yeah but I can take care of myself, unlike some people."

He blushed a bit, still playing with the napkin, then stopped abruptly and said, "Tala."

Hearing my name caught my attention – why had I told him? Stupid, stupid–

"Thank you."

I looked at him. "Huh?"

He scrunched up the napkin in his hands but held my gaze. "For saving me. I didn't get to thank you that night."

"Oh… don't worry about it," I replied, suddenly uncomfortable. Taking another swig of my drink, I asked, "So are you leaving or what?"

"Do you want me to leave?"

I stared at him. I could not believe that he was actually that stubborn all of the sudden – I had completely expected him to slink off after my biting comment, but there he was, gazing up at me through his eyelashes. I was struck again by how feminine he looked. Weird.

"Fine," I growled, waving over a waiter. "Get him something to drink – **non**-alcoholic. And get me another."

Raul made a face at my patronizing demand about his drink but remained in place, swinging his legs under the table.

------

I talk a lot when I'm buzzed – alcohol seems to have a magical ability to unhinge my tongue and bypass my usual reserve. Having an intent, indulgent audience didn't help the situation. Either there _was _something in Raul's sweet-smelling orange drink or my unusually relaxed openness made him feel very comfortable, because he happily sat across from me, asking questions and drinking in my stories with wide-eyed fascination.

To tell the truth I was completely enjoying myself. I had stopped drinking, shockingly – I was buzzed but no where near trashed. I even remained relatively calm about introducing Raul to Spencer when the blond wandered by to check on me. I must have seemed pretty under control, because he smiled at Raul and allowed the playful redhead under his arm to pull him onto the dance floor.

We carried on comfortably for quite a while before the inevitable interruption. I should have seen that coming, but as I've been trying to explain, something about this kid messes with my radar and I don't like it.

Anyway this big sleazy kid ambled up to our table and Raul immediately froze up, all the light vanishing from his bright green eyes. I looked over to see who had interrupted my story, which Raul had been laughing over ten seconds before. "What," I spat coldly, instantly irritated by the way this trespasser was looking at me.

"You've got something of ours. We're taking it back," a menacing voice oozed as two more grizzly characters joined the first. At least one of them looked vaguely familiar.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, so get out of my face before I get mad."

I had been trying to place goon number three, who was slinking behind the other two, so again I was surprised when the first shot out a hand. Instinctively my fists went up, but instead of trying to hit me, he grabbed Raul's wrist. "This belongs to us," he sneered.

I frowned at him, then at Raul, whose eyes had disappeared under heavy wet lashes and pink bangs.

"Sorry, he's my drinking buddy tonight," I said tersely. I was annoyed – at myself for being caught off-guard, at Raul for attracting trouble again, at these goons for wrecking my unexpected good mood.

"Oh really?" that snide voice goaded.

"Yeah," I replied.

"What's he drinking?" he mocked humorlessly. To my shrug he gloated, "Looks like soda."

I glared hatefully at him but he turned to Raul. "Having fun, baby? Knocking back **soda** with this low-life? Or do you want to have a real drink with the big kids?" When Raul didn't answer, he gave the boy's arm a twisting yank that pulled him off his seat and drew a quick cry from his lips.

In an instant I was on my feet as well, barely keeping myself from mauling the bully. "Let him go!" I almost shouted. All around us people went quiet, staring.

The leader, the one holding Raul's arm, smirked again. "Do you want to join us, then? Raul, shall I invite this lowlife for a drink?"

Still Raul's eyes stayed hidden and he did not answer. After a few endless seconds, the bully said, "I guess he's not interested."

Two of the intruders slowly walked away, dragging the boy with them. The last leaned in closer to me with a smug, "Stay away from him, if you know what's good for you." Then he followed the others away.

------

I was seething. I hate being threatened, and I was pissed at how weak Raul had been in the face of those bullies. I hate people who don't stand up for themselves. The fact that I still wanted Raul's company despite how much he annoyed me bugged me even more. The many staring eyes only made things worse.

I whirled around, not even sure where I was headed, and almost crashed into Spencer.

"Tala?" his deep voice questioned.

"I'm leaving," I snapped, pushing past him and the lanky redhead still at his side – I suppose they had come to investigate the source of all the commotion.

"Are you alright to drive?" Spencer rumbled, following me.

"I'm fine! I only had three!" Somehow his concern was making me even more upset.

His hand caught my shoulder. "Tala."

"What!" I exploded, turning on him.

"Don't do anything rash," he cautioned reasonably.

I scoffed, turning away, and my eyes found the group of bullies and victim again. Raul was boxed into a horseshoe-shaped booth, a large figure on either end and the third beside the boy. A tear slipped down his cheek to be hastily brushed away as a glass of amber liquid and foam was pushed in front of him. I looked at the one giving Raul beer, the one who had seemed familiar, and now recognized the bully as one of those I had pulled off Raul that night I had first rescued the boy.

Blood boiling and pounding in my head, I found myself on the comfortably worn seat of my motorbike and raced off into the gloom of the midnight city.

------

* You shouldn't drink if you are underaged. Tala is about nineteen in this story, and where he lives oversees, he's legal.

* The goons call Raul "baby" as an insult, not a term of endearment.

Is that enough suspense? Shall I continue? Please review!

VVVVV


	2. The Truth

**Disclaimer:** characters by Aoki Takao, distributed by VIS Media, etc.

OOMC2! Featuring Tala Ivanov (Yuriy Balkov) and Raul Fernandez, with Kai Hiwatari and Miguel Lavalier, Spencer Petrov and Brooklyn Macefield, and Bryan Kuvnetsov. Even more characters to come :3

**Warning**: Some language. The action explodes in the next chapter.

**------**_**OUT OF MY CONTROL**_**------**

_by destinykitty_

**------Part 2------**

**The Truth**

I was hell-bent on never seeing that kid again. Anyone who made me that angry, that confused, that unaware of my surroundings when I have to survive by my wits, was clearly not good company. I avoided every place I thought he could possibly get to, never went near his neighborhood, became almost nocturnal, and got into fights as often as possible. I spent a lot of time at bars, ones with no dance floor and strict bouncers, and drank heavily. Often those bouncers ended up removing me from the premises after I picked fights with one too many patrons, got much too loud and insulting, or started a brawl.

I was a mess; anyone could see that. More than once my friends tried to make me explain my erratic behavior but I refused. I didn't know what to say, or even what was really wrong.

I think I was starting to tick everyone off pretty badly because one day I awakened to Spencer and Bryan dropping me into a bathtub full of cold water. Kai announced that we were going out shortly and turned on the shower. I did as much swearing and cursing as my hangover would allow but they left me alone, unimpressed.

Forty-five minutes later we were on the road. They hadn't let me take my bike, citing public safety laws, so we were all riding in a sleek black cruiser with Spencer at the wheel. I refused to talk to them except for random sullen comments about minding their own business, and mostly stared out the window, brooding moodily over my coffee.

When we arrived they dragged me bodily out of the car and into the building. Inside, I finally collected my wits enough to realize that there was a plan underfoot and immediately tried to bolt, only to be tackled by Bryan and Spencer. Even with several weeks of extra practice fighting in all those bars, I was no match for the two of them. Kai, who was ignoring me for a conversation on his phone, looked up at my wild demands to know what was going on. Then he turned to greet a familiar blond. With a kiss Miguel told him something about being ready.

They hauled me halfway across the damn mall and into a department store. Kai was on the phone again and seemed to be leading the posse; a few turns later I saw Spencer's redhead. He stepped aside, opening the door behind him – and Bryan and Spencer tossed me inside.

"Play nice," Miguel called as I hurled myself against the closed door, intent on breaking it down or at least giving myself a concussion trying.

"What are you talking about? You bastards, let me out of here! Hey! Come back right–"

A tiny noise behind me somehow caught my attention and I glanced around to find–

Ok, I screamed. I mean, yelled, in a manly way. I was shocked. That kid was locked in the room with me, struggling to his feet though nothing visibly held him down.

I sagged against the door behind me, furiously rubbing my aching eyes and forehead. I could not understand what was going on. Was this all bad luck? Why was he here too?

"Tala?" his soft voice ventured; I could tell he was right in front of me.

"No! Stay away from me," I hissed, still kneading my head frantically. I slid down the door in exhaustion.

"Are you ok? Kai and Brooklyn said–"

My eyes snapped open. I was sitting on the floor at this point and he had crouched down so his bright green gaze was at my eye level. I stared into those eyes for a few moments, numb, then let my eyes wander across his face. Scratches and bruises marred his tan skin as they had when we met, but as it had been over a month since I had rescued him, these were new.

My fingers met his cheek of their own accord, and though his eyes narrowed a little in discomfort, he did not pull away. "What happened?" I breathed.

He shrugged, smiling sadly. "The same thing that always happens when I try to escape from him."

"Was he the one…."

"At the bar, and when we first met? No, those are just some of the goons he has follow me around and find me when I run away."

I didn't understand. "Why?" Why would someone do this?

His eyes disappeared behind his hair again. "Because I'm his disobedient son."

This unnamed man loomed ominously behind a mask of shadows, needing to be revealed. Transfixed, I whispered, "Who…?"

His smooth cheek nuzzled against my lingering fingers. "Not now, please," he begged, and his eyes opened to reveal fright.

I stared into those emerald orbs a while longer, thumb running along the darkened skin of his chin. Then I dropped my hand, frowning as my head pulsed.

"How do you know Kai?"

Raul hesitated for a moment. "He came to find me."

"Why?"

The green gaze was on me but I ignored it for the moment. The boy sighed.

"You are worrying your friends."

I scoffed. "Tsch."

"They wanted to help. Spencer and Brooklyn–"

"That redhead?"

"Yeah. They remembered me from the bar that night. Brooklyn eventually found me."

"They should have minded their own business." I climbed to my feet, searching for a way out of the tiny room. There was a vent overhead. Perhaps….

"Are you really that upset that they made you meet with me? They hoped I could get you to calm down. You're hurting yourself."

"I'm **fine**, but when I get out of here, I am going to mess them up," I swore, sizing up the vent. It would be a very tight fit.

"You really don't care? You didn't want to see me?"

"No." I didn't have to look at him. I knew he would be hurt, but I was still mad at my friends for meddling in my life. I reached for the vent.

"Tala."

"Shush!"

"The door is unlocked."

I stared at him, taken aback. "How do you know?"

He stood, looking blank, dead. "This is a dressing room. It locks from the inside." Oh, duh. Then, "You can go if you wish."

"Oh." I felt kind of dumb and mean. He stepped away from the door, away from me, arms folded tightly over his chest.

In the silence between us I heard a scuffle outside and glanced toward the door. Brooklyn's voice called, "No, there's someone in there," and another, rougher voice answered, "Yeah, and I'm here to drag him home."

A split-second glance was enough to tell me that Raul knew the voice and its owner – he was rapidly retreating to the back wall of the dressing room, cheeks loosing all color to display his cuts and bruises even more sharply. In the next second, while I wondered where all my friends, who should have been on guard, had gone, I heard heavy steps reach the door. It was too late to lock it now. I whirled around to face Raul, pushing him against the back wall. To his faint protest, I said, "Shush."

As the door banged open, admitting who knows how many people – sine I was not looking I cannot tell you – I pressed my lips to Raul's, angling my body to shield him from view.

I could have counted the milliseconds crawling by. The back of my neck itched from the harsh stare I knew was directed at me. All I could do was draw Raul closer, deeper into my embrace, further from view, until finally the gruff voice grunted, "Oh. Wrong room."

"Please excuse the interruption. You'll find a lock on the doorknob, if you like," piped in Brooklyn, who I realized was posing as a salesperson. Or perhaps he was a salesperson. Whatever. The click of the door closing was the best sound I had ever heard. I relaxed, releasing Raul, who now had tears running down his cheeks.

"Raul? It's alright, he's gone, really. Raul, come on," I started chuckling from sheer relief, reaching up weakly to brush away the warm drops.

His hand struck the side of my face, slapping me with all the force he could muster, as best as I can tell. I blinked at him stupidly, completely shocked, as he shook his hand and glared at me through tears continuing to pour down his face.

"What was that for?" I finally asked. This little bugger was insane, as best as I could figure. I just saved him again, and he goes and tries to knock my face off? Not to mention my hangover was still making my brain ache.

When he tried to break for the door, I caught him and demanded, "Explain yourself, you little nut!"

"Let go!" he yelled, wriggling like a fish. A fist caught me this time, right on the ear, which really hurt.

"Ow! What the heck?" I demanded, rubbing my ear gingerly.

Instead of explaining himself, he twisted out of my grip and wrenched the door open so it clipped my shoulder as I leapt to catch him. He bolted. Cursing profusely, I followed at a dash.

Luckily he did not get far. A few yards outside the door stood Spencer with the struggling boy caught in his arms, flailing feet well above the ground. "Woah, easy there," murmured Spencer, trying to avoid being hit without dropping the boy. "Loose someone, Tala?" he joked.

"Put me down!" Raul cried.

"Where were you two minutes ago?" I demanded of Spencer.

"Coffee," he said bluntly. I glanced behind him to find Brooklyn holding two cups of coffee and wearing a bemused expression.

"What went wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know! He just started screaming and hitting me."

"You're a jerk," sobbed Raul, who was no longer trying to kick Spencer.

"What did he do?" Brooklyn ventured kindly.

"He kissed me." More tears.

I was still flabbergasted. "Isn't that a good thing!"

"What did you say beforehand?" Brooklyn asked pointedly. I realized that he had probably overheard the whole conversation from outside the door, but… "I don't know what I said!"

Brooklyn rolled his eyes, Spencer looked amused. A new voice called, "How's it going?" as Kai and Miguel meandered up, arm-in-arm. As they looked us over, the blond continued, "Not well, I take it."

"What's the matter, Raul?" asked Kai softly.

"Does everyone have to try to run my life?" I complained.

"Yes, as you are not capable." Kai said icily. "Raul?"

Hiccupping pathetically, Raul explained, "He said he doesn't want me, and **then** he kissed me."

"Tala was protecting him," explained Brooklyn.

"Tala, why did you do this?"

"What? I – I don't know, I was angry at you guys."

"So you hurt him. And then?"

Kai was too crisp, too sharp. He didn't understand. "He makes me crazy," I protested weakly.

"Yes, we've noticed." Kai's voice was still sharp and cold. "So why did you kiss him?"

"It was all I could think of to protect him from that goon, no thanks to you guys!" I exclaimed indignantly.

"It was all you could think of…" prompted Kai.

"Yeah." Something clicked.

"Oh just kiss him already, or we'll lock you back in the closet," Bryan's mocking voice demanded.

"Hey! Shut up, I'm trying to figure this out on my own."

"Well you suck at that."

I was about to protest further when I saw Raul say something to Spencer, and the tall blond lower him to the ground. "Raul, wait!"

Raul, dwarfed by Spencer's big hands resting gently on his shoulders, seemed to deflate. "I can't wait anymore, Tala," he said softly. His voice was wistful, brittle, with no evidence of tears to be heard. "I have to go. If I'm late again, Boris will kill me. He said he would."

I froze. "He's… your father? The mob boss?"

Raul looked away, rubbing his arm uncomfortably. "He took me in." He sniffed and continued, "I have to go. I… probably won't see you again."

"No! Don't leave," I pleaded, closing the distance between us and taking his small hands in my own. "Stay, please."

"Tala…" he hesitated weakly. "Don't make this any harder for me."

"Raul, I'm serious. Come home with us. I don't want to have to worry about you, not knowing where you are. I can't live like that anymore. It would drive me out of my mind. I–" I hesitated, burningly aware once again of all the eyes glued to me. With an uncomfortable twitch, I leaned in close to Raul's ear. "I think I know why you make me so crazy – I do care about you, a lot. I think that… I love you."

Raul didn't move. I couldn't hear him breathing. I drew back to figure out what was wrong. Was he going to start crying again?

"Raul? Are you ok?" I asked, concerned. I crouched down, trying to see his face. Then I heard something, a funny little off noise among all the sounds of mall shopper bustle. "Kai!"

In the space of a blink my friends assumed fighting stances around Brooklyn, Miguel, Raul and me. There were more to protect than protecting this way, so I quickly turned to Raul. "Raul, I–"

"Tala!" His face was almost white, between purple bruises and red scratch-marks, and stricken with fear. "I have to tell you–"

"Repeat, confirmation of sighting. Request backup. Moving in," a crisp voice broke the peaceful atmosphere, and instantly over a dozen bodies were in action. I saw several men target Kai, probably because he is the smallest of us, and saw Miguel jump in to help. Someone struck at Miguel and Kai growled, flooring the man.

I pushed Raul toward the dressing room. "Raul, lock yourself in that room and stay there. Brooklyn, go with him! Stay safe!"

Brooklyn nodded reluctantly but Raul cried, "Tala, wait!"

Catching the hand he held out to me, I kissed his fingers quickly. "I'll be right here. I will protect you," I swore with absolute conviction.

Dropping his fingers, I jumped into the fray.

------

Ooh long chapters. Long for me anyway. Chapters 3 and 4 are in progress. I expect this to be a four-shot but if 4 runs long, there may be a fifth. It would mostly be wrap-up though so we'll see.

Please review! There's a big nasty brawl up next! (Yes I am an evil authoress, why?)

VVVVV


	3. The Disaster

**Disclaimer:** characters by Aoki Takao, Beyblade Project, etc.

OOMC3! Featuring Tala Ivanov/Yuriy Balkov and Raul Fernandez, with Kai Hiwatari and Miguel Lavalier, Spencer Petrov and Brooklyn Macefield, and Bryan Kuvnetsov. More characters to come :3

Thanks for the reviews: Party in the Afterlife for both, Night Chan, Elemental Gypsy for both, and Demolition Girl. :3

There was at least one comment that Tala moved too fast. Yeah, considering it was only the second chapter, that's probably true. But… He is decisive, and I don't think he'd say he has a crush on Raul. "I want you" may have been more accurate. Bear in mind that it has been about six weeks since they met, even thought they've only seen each other twice in that time and had one good conversation. He also had Kai encouraging him.

I'll apologize in advance for beating everyone up. This chapter is rough. Don't worry too much, though; I'll never have the heart to kill anyone, except maybe a nameless bad guy or two.

The cruiser is an SUV, by the way.

**Warning**: Action violence and some language.

**------**_**OUT OF MY CONTROL**_**------**

_by destinykitty_

**------Part 3------**

**The Disaster**

Thirty seconds into the fight, it had already turned nasty. Shoppers and mall employees were screaming as they fled the area. Bodies littered the floor, goons holding various injured body parts. Spencer was wrestling with several large men, matching blow for blow. Bryan circled a smaller, dark-clad figure, both with knife blades held out menacingly. Kai and Miguel seemed to be at the center of the thickest fighting.

"Greetings, Yuriy," a voice sneered in a language I had not heard in a long time. I whipped around and caught a punch on my arm rather than my face. Darting backward to give myself space, I took in the person who had spoken.

It was not someone I knew, though like many of the thugs my friends were fighting he was difficult to identify through the dark burglar-style mask that covered much of his face. Still, the fact that he spoke Russian and used my other name told me exactly who we were facing, and the knowledge was not comforting.

Voltaire's mob was in town.

Recognition or some other emotion must have crossed my face as I snapped into a ready stance, for the man chuckled. "Yes, Yuriy, be afraid. We come for your little friend, but you and the other traitors, we may kill."

"Not if I kill you first!" I yelled, hurling myself into motion.

There was little conversation after that. I grappled with the first mobster for a time, then he was replaced with two more… actions flowed into one another. The only thing that mattered was defeating as many of them as possible, as quickly as I could. I hoped my friends were faring alright but was too busy to pay much attention to anything besides the fists and feet swinging around me.

When the first gunshot rang through the store, I ducked. Quickly realizing I was not the intended target I glanced around quickly to see if anyone was hit.

Spencer was down on one knee, clutching his arm, but before I turned back to my fight I saw a mobster fly over his shoulder. I figured he was not too badly hurt.

The constant onslaught of assailants was exhausting. I knew mere minutes had passed since the beginning of the brawl but I was so aware of each passing second that they seemed to stretch into hours. I did not break from my place to aid anyone else for fear that Raul and Brooklyn would be found, but kept trying to look out for my friends. On my next fleeting sweep of the room, I saw Miguel struck across the back of the head with a thick mace.

He collapsed limply to the floor as I turned to meet a new onslaught, listening to Kai cry out his lover's name. I still was not sure why there were so many goons surrounding those two, when Raul was over here. Perhaps they figured that Kai, as our leader, would know where the pink-haired boy was, not realizing that Raul was hidden so close.

I finally realized my mistake when Kai's voice again rang through the room.

"No!"

He sounded so anguished that I had to find out what had happened. Luckily the man I was fighting also found that confrontation more interesting than our own and broke away in that direction. I chased him, taking in the scene that had so upset Kai.

Miguel was being held up by two big mobsters, one of whom had a gun pressed up under the Spaniard's chin. The teen appeared barely conscious. In front of the trio, Kai looked terrified; I couldn't remember ever having seen him show that much emotion during a fight.

"You come with us, Hiwatari," one of Voltare's men demanded.

Kai did not flinch; I knew he would never think of his own well-being when his lover was in such immediate danger. His words matched my thoughts; "Just let him go!"

I should have known Voltaire would want Kai. I should have protected him myself. Cursing my stupidity I tried to break into the circle surrounding Kai and Miguel, yelling out my frustration.

A sweeping kick caught my chest and threw me backwards; I tripped to land on my back. A grinding weight planted itself on my shoulder, pinning me as the toe of a steel-toed combat boot slammed into my ribs. Again and again the metal plate hammered into my side; I writhed under the assault, almost biting my tongue in the effort to keep from screaming. When respite came, I found a gun leveled at my face. Then I heard a crash and another cry.

Raul, my adorable little pink-haired Raul, was thrashing in the grips of several thugs. These were not all Russians, I saw in an instant. Boris's men were here as well. I struggled to get up, only to have the boot press harder into my shoulder. The gun still targeted my head.

Bitterly powerless, I turned my eyes back toward the dressing room.

Spencer's redhead, Brooklyn, was being dragged through the hole in the broken-down door by his vibrant hair. The man holding him gave his fist a shake, then flung the tall boy to the ground where another pinned him down. Raul screamed at them to stop until a cloth was pressed over his nose and mouth, muffling his cries. As he fell limp over the arm of one of the mobster holding him, I realized they had chloroformed him. The man threw Raul over his shoulder.

As I tried to break away from my captors and help, a fresh assault viciously caught my abused ribs. I caught my breath at the white-hot sensations, curling onto my side. From that position I found myself again facing Kai. He was now blindfolded, arms tied down and hands secured behind his back.

"Kai," I croaked, rendered almost unable to speak with breathlessness. They couldn't take Raul _and _Kai! I needed them both!

"Come, we are finished here," one of the Russians instructed his compatriots. They were gathering their fallen comrades off the floor. It finally occurred to me to look for Bryan and Spencer, who I soon found backed into a corner, staring down several gunmen and streaked with blood that, at least in Bryan's case, I suspected was not all their own. Clearly spitting mad, Bryan looked about ready to explode but Spencer was restraining him. The blond was ashen-faced, though whether due to blood-loss or Kai and Brooklyn's ill-treatment, I wasn't sure.

The outside world suddenly interfered as I heard sirens; anti-gang security forces were nearby. I was surprised that they had arrived so quickly. A few cut words spoken in Russian signaled the explosion of a smoke bomb, which quickly obscuring everything from sight. The shuffling of many feet passed me, though not before someone had taken another dig at my ribs. I curled tighter, sick with pain and the bitterness of failure, hoping not to be tripped over.

As the footsteps drew away, a hand met my shoulder, shaking it slightly. "Tala?"

"Nngh," I moaned, pushing myself onto my knees. "We hafta… follow 'em…."

Spencer sighed, helping me sit up. "We need to get out of here first."

"Spencer…"

Brooklyn limped out of the smoke and dropped into Spencer's arms. Spencer held the shaking redhead close, whispering soothingly in his ear while running a comforting hand up and down his back. His injured arm wrapped gingerly around Brooklyn's waist.

I looked away, wondering what had happened to Miguel and where Bryan had gone. I had not seen the Spaniard in a while, but there had not been any gunshots so I assumed he was still alive. Standing slowly, I shuffled in the direction I thought would lead me to Kai's lover.

"Miguel?"

There was a slight sound in response to my query, and I took a few more steps into the fog. "Where are you?"

"Tala, get your ass over here and give me a hand," Bryan's angry voice demanded. "He's still knocked out."

I found my silver-haired companion and the unfortunate Spaniard moments later. Bryan was trying to haul Miguel upright but having trouble because the other was still limp. I put Miguel's other arm over my shoulder, and we stood. Miguel was dead weight between us.

The other two appeared through the smoke and Brooklyn motioned, "This way." We began picking our way out of the wrecked store, trying not to trip on overturned clothing racks and spilled merchandise, ignoring the muffled demands of security officers outside the store that all combatants come out with their hands up.

After what seemed like forever Brooklyn opened a back door and we spilled out into fresh air and the last lingering rays of daylight. Bryan helped me lower Miguel onto the stairs, demanded keys from Spencer, and set off to fetch the car. Brooklyn, still severely shaken, began trying to bind up Spencer's arm to quench the flow of blood. When his trembling fingers could barely hold together a knot, Spencer pulled the lanky teen against his chest and into a deep, reassuring kiss. I dropped to the stairs beside Miguel, holding my ribs resentfully.

I despise failure, particularly my own. We were here because my friends had been trying to help me. This whole fiasco was my fault. I put my elbows on my knees, kneading my forehead into my palms, furious at myself but undeniably aware that there was no way of undoing what had happened. I would just have to save them myself.

I heard a groan beside me, and glanced at Miguel to see the blond attempt to sit up. With a hiss he clutched at the back of his head, hunched in an attitude of obvious suffering. Hesitantly I asked, "Are you ok?"

He didn't look up, but croaked quietly, "Kai?"

I sighed. "No, it's Tala."

He moved slightly so he could see me with one eye, as if to check that I had spoken the truth. "Where's Kai?"

"He's, ah… not here."

Despite having just regained consciousness, or perhaps because it was the only thing that could worry him more than the fact that he could barely control his body, Miguel picked up on my hesitation and concern. "Where is Kai?" he asked again. When I didn't answer immediately, he pushed himself awkwardly upright so he could see me with both bloodshot blue eyes, revealing profound worry. "Tala, please…."

I looked away. "They… took him."

"What! How?"

"They used you as a hostage," I answered, too bitter to care that the knowledge would hurt him. As much as I blamed myself for this mess, Miguel would feel even worse. It was my fault that we were here in the first place, but it was because of him that Kai had given himself up.

"No…." Miguel slumped over his knees, face in his hands. I averted my eyes, feeling ashamed and sorry for myself as my side gave a pounding throb which my head echoed. I definitely deserved this pain.

I was about to speak to Miguel again when our black cruiser raced recklessly into view, stopping abruptly mere feet away. Bryan jumped out of the driver seat and threw the keys at Spencer. "Go home. I'm following them."

"I'm coming with you," I piped in, standing as quickly as I could. Bryan eyed me skeptically.

"Tala, you look like shit."

"I'm fine," I argued, though my voice gave a betraying wobble.

"I don't need anyone holding me back."

"Tala, come with us," Spencer interjected. "Bryan will be more efficient on his own."

"You need back-up!"

"Yeah, preferably from someone who isn't likely to fall over at any second."

Bryan looked pointedly at me, then his sea-green gaze flicked past me to where Miguel had forced himself onto his feet. "Come on, Tala," the blond murmured. "Let's get them." I caught him as his knees buckled.

"I'll see you guys later," Bryan called over his shoulder, sprinting away.

"Bryan, you ass!" I yelled after him, but with Miguel hanging from my arm, I couldn't follow him.

Spencer took Miguel's other side, and quietly prompted, "Tala." With Bryan out of sight around a corner and moving too fast for me to catch up with him, I grudgingly resigned myself to stay with the injured members of our group, and helped Spencer lead Miguel to the car.

------

Spencer was at the wheel, driving one-handed while his injured arm rested on the divider between the two front seats. Brooklyn had managed to tie up his wound so at least it was not bleeding all over the inside of the car. The redhead sat beside Spencer up front, watching him worriedly for any sign of weakness. Miguel stared miserably out a side window, flinching each time the car jostled slightly, thought he seemed relatively unaware of his pitiable condition. I knew his mind was only on Kai. My own brain would not stop replaying images from the fight: Raul captured and unconscious, Kai bound and being led away, the menacing looks of the numerous mobsters who had defeated us. We had been badly outnumbered but even then we should have been able to defend ourselves! I suppose the failing of the plan had been to shut Raul and Brooklyn in that room. It would have been better to just make a break for it.

I kept replaying the fight and its consequences over and over until my head felt like it was going to explode. The instant our car pulled into the garage, I jumped out and broke for my bike.

"Tala!" Spencer called from behind me. I ignored him, jumping onto the worn leather seat of my bike and fumbling for my keys. The quick movement hurt, especially around my bad bruised ribs. I sucked in a short breath, willing away the pain as I yanked the keys out of my pocket.

A large hand caught the handlebars of my bike, surprising me. Spencer was right beside me.

"Leave me alone! I have to get out there!" I flailed an arm at him, trying to push him out of my way.

"Tala–"

"I'm going back! I'll kill them all," I swore through clenched teeth. My chest heaved with barely-controlled emotions.

His other hand wrapped around the back of my neck, firmly holding me still. "Tala, **look** at me."

When twisting around and pulling back against his hand gained me no ground, I looked up into the green eyes less than a foot above mine. Spencer was leaning down so we were nearly eye-to-eye.

"There is nothing you can do **right now**. After we have more information and a plan, we **will** go rescue them. Until then, I **need** you to **calm down** and help me here."

He spoke without raising his voice but it held such force that I could not help but listen. The idea of staying and doing nothing made me sick, but as I broke my gaze away from his eyes, it found the blood-soaked bandage on his arm, then an anxious Brooklyn helping a shaky Miguel out of the big black cruiser. There was no one else home and I could see that neither of the other two would be much help to anyone.

I dropped my head in defeat, breathing raggedly against the acid taste in my throat. The air caught in a sob. Spencer released my neck, his hand trailing across my shoulders comfortingly.

As Spencer turned back to the car and walked away, I drew an arm over my eyes, suddenly exhausted.

_Kai, Raul… wait for me._

------

I expected to get further in this chapter, but didn't want to make you all wait for it any longer. Still not sure about the length though I think a fifth chapter may be necessary.

Please review! And don't kill me or I can't write the rescue and Raul and Kai will be trapped forever in the clutches of Boris and Voltaire.

VVVVV


	4. The Sting

**Disclaimer:** characters by Takao Aoki, HUDSON SOFT/TAKARA/HASBRO, BEYBLADE PROJECT, TV TOKYO, Nelvana.

OOMC4: the character list keeps growing! Next chapter I'll have over a dozen characters to manage as well as the villains XD The list of side pairings is growing as well.

Thanks for the reviews: Party in the Afterlife, Elemental Gypsy, and Tenshi of Freedom.

Ooh… I did piss everyone off, huh? And it seems like I did a great job making Tala human and fallible, because I bet you're mad at him too. Real people aren't perfect. He'll make up for it.

The problem with first-person narrative is that Tala must be present for everything that happens; otherwise you wouldn't hear about it. Luckily, he's the curious type.

Sorry for OOCness: Tala's kinda whiny in this chapter, because he's injured and anxious for Raul and Kai.

**Warning**: Some language.

**------**_**OUT OF MY CONTROL**_**------**

_by destinykitty_

**------Part 4------**

**The Sting**

As the adrenaline rush seeped from my body I was left feeling achy and sick all over. I sat in our designated medical room, fidgeting with a worn area of my pants as I waited agitatedly for Spencer. He had said I couldn't have any painkillers until after he looked at my ribs, but I was third on his list of patients. As the only one seriously bleeding, he was first.

Normally he took care of everyone and Kai helped if he needed fixing himself, but clearly, Kai was not available. Spencer didn't trust me to look after Miguel, so he gave the job to Brooklyn, leaving me to assist him.

Luckily the bullet had only grazed his arm, though the cut was deep and wide. Spencer stoically cleaned and disinfected his wound while I stared moodily into space, occasionally lending a second pair of eyes to make sure there was nothing imbedded in the torn flesh. Mostly he needed another pair of hands to bind it up, which was a fairly simple task even for my distracted brain.

Once he was satisfied, he left me with strict instructions to stay put while he assessed Miguel for a concussion.

I lay back on the exam bench, staring blankly at the ceiling. Right now I felt too drained to do anything but close my eyes weakly, willing my brain to ignore the fiery signals sent from my traumatized abdomen with every intake of breath. Somehow, my mind drifted.

I shook myself, realizing that I had been falling asleep and uncertain how long it had been since Spencer left the room. As I moved my ribs burned again; I pushed back the feeling. Deciding that I had waited long enough, I swung my legs off the table and set off as fast as I could manage in the direction of Kai and Miguel's bedroom.

Hearing footsteps as I neared my destination, I ducked aside to avoid Brooklyn's notice as the other redhead trudged down the hall. He looked exhausted, and I wondered briefly whether Spencer had sent him to bed. It was still only early evening.

_But we can't stop yet! Kai and Raul are still out there. _

I pushed myself off the wall, shuffling the last few steps and leaning against the doorframe. The door was open slightly, so I could hear Spencer's deep voice as he conversed with Kai's lover.

"…lucky a mild concussion, but I want you to get some rest."

"But Kai…."

I heard a shift, and imagined Spencer was standing up. "We will make a plan as soon as Bryan checks in with whatever information he is able to gather. Until then, we need to recoup as much as possible. None of us is much good to Kai at the moment, especially alone."

There was a pause, and then Miguel asked, "Have you contacted Kai's other team?"

"Not yet; I planned on getting in touch with them as soon as I was done taking care of Brooklyn and Tala. You may call them. It would give you something to do. Don't get too worked up, though, please."

Miguel answered quickly, "I'll talk to them."

I jerked away from the door as Spencer opened it and stepped into the hall, trying to look innocent, as though I just happened to be there. Spencer, of course, didn't buy it.

"Eavesdropping, Tala?" he asked bluntly, though there was amusement in his eyes.

"No, I was just going for a walk," I replied heatedly, attempting to defend myself.

"Didn't I tell you to stay put?"

I frowned. "I don't know, probably."

Spencer sighed, looking tired. "Come on, I'll wrap up your ribs now."

"But I wanna…."

I stopped whining abruptly as Spencer sent me an irritated look. He was even less prone to displays of emotion than Kai was, so seeing his thoughts written so clearly across his face was intimidating. I meekly stumbled back to the medic room and perched on the table, waiting.

Everything hurt, from the movement of my hips as I sat down to the twist of my arms as I removed my shirt. I bit back a complaint as Spencer felt my bruised ribs for possible breaks and dislocations, hoping he would finish soon and give me some good painkillers.

Finally Spencer finished binding wide strips of white cloth around my body and stepped away. "How's it look?" I asked uncertainly. _Please don't tell me I have to stay here…._

Spencer looked up, his gaze piercing. "Unfortunately, unlike most doctors I cannot expect my patients to obey my wishes when I tell them to take it easy. I can only hope you do not over-exert yourself."

"Cool, so I can go?" I said, hopping of the table. Mistake. I clutched at my sides, swearing.

Spencer rolled his eyes and handed me a paper cup filled with water; when I turned toward him he was sifting through a cupboard on the wall. After a few moments he handed me a small plastic bottle.

"Here, take two of these."

"Spencer," Miguel breathed as he walked into the medic room. We both looked at him.

"Did you call the Breakers?" asked Spencer.

"Yeah and I got Hilary but after she asked who it was, she told me to wait and hung up."

"Hm, perhaps they are busy," Spencer mused. "That makes things more difficult."

Just as those words left his mouth a faint buzzing noise sounded overhead: the door alarm. Looking at each other in confusion, Miguel and I followed Spencer, who had started for the source of the noise instantly.

As we neared the entrance of our hide-away Brooklyn started into the hall; a surprised "Oh," jumped from his lips when he caught sight of us approaching.

"A group of kids just dropped in," he said uncertainly. "They said they are friends of Kai's."

"Hey Spencer, Tala, Miguel!" voices babbled as several younger teens flocked into view behind Brooklyn, waving cheerfully.

"Sorry about the call, Miguel." Hilary continued. "We were so close that I figured we should just talk in person." She turned to Spencer, our deputy leader. "So, where can we set up our spy equipment?"

------

Two minutes later an impressive array of computer screens, wiring and antennas had been laid out in our den. As Kenny set about organizing and hooking things up, Hilary briskly launched into a description of why they were here.

"Sorry about dropping in unannounced but this is major. Our routine surveillance picked up a security tape of your fight and of Kai being captured. It looked nasty, so we figured you guys would need some help. We have further information too. Kai is being shipped out for Russia around midnight, which gives us less than six hours to get a plan up and active."

Overwhelmed by the flow of words from the girl's mouth, I blurted out, "That was routine surveillance?"

"We like to know everything that happens in this city," smiled a second girl who I've heard introduced as Julia. "Kenny works the net and online communication channels. Hil and I handle anything related to word-of-mouth. We know every rat this side of the country."

Nodding briefly, as though this information was no surprise to him, Spencer settled into a chair near Kenny's set-up. "Tell us everything you know."

--------

Hilary and Julia could talk the hind leg off a horse. I collapsed into a chair after several minutes of unending babble, agitatedly examining the ceiling while I waited for the monologue to end and a plan to emerge. Miguel also took a seat, and Spencer found time to patch up Brooklyn's bruises while he carefully listened to the girls. He has infinite patience.

Somewhere in the midst of endless explanations, calculations and details, Kenny nudged Hilary and pointed out something on a screen in front of him. He had been typing furiously for a while, long enough that I could not remember when he began. The girl turned back to Spencer and said, "Bryan is on his way," before picking back up with logistics and stats.

Knowing that my friend would soon be back and it would be easier to force the group into action with him here, fresh from a fight, I now turned my attention to awaiting Bryan's return. The minutes seemed to stretch into hours as I listened for the sound of an engine or our garage door.

Finally I caught a noise outside that was growing in pitch and volume as it approached; I jumped out of my chair and bounded from the room.

As I reached the garage Bryan jumped out of an unfamiliar vehicle which he must have stolen and grabbed a rifle, pointing it behind him to where another, sleeker auto was slipping in beneath the closing door.

"Don't shoot!" a voice called apprehensively. "Bryan, it's us!"

My silver-haired friend lowered the gun slightly as a short blond tumbled out of the driver seat, baby blue eyes lifted pleadingly. Recognition dawned on me as Bryan turned heel, stowing the rifle out of sight.

Reassured that he was not about to get shot, Max called, "Hey Tala, how's it going?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Hilary called all of us," another teen answered as two more boys climbed out of the vehicle. Both wore their hair long and braided, though one's face was surrounded by black spikes and the other by blond. "We asked Max to pick us up."

"Geez, how many people are coming?" I asked peevishly, rubbing my forehead.

Rei and Mystel looked at each other, shrugging. "If the girls and Chief are already here, that's about the whole team," Rei said.

"Great," I said sarcastically, turning to follow Bryan inside. Rei, Mystel and Max trooped in after me.

--------

Several steps behind Bryan, I heard Spencer ask how his mission faired as the silver-haired gangster entered the den.

"I took out a few auxiliaries but they made it back to Boris's complex before I could get at Kai and the kid," Bryan reported sourly, throwing himself into a seat. He was dirtier but no more blood-splattered than he had been at the mall, so I guessed the chase must have taken place entirely on the road. I wished I had been there. I would not have come back empty-handed if it killed me.

"It will be quite difficult to get in, hmm?" Spencer asked quietly.

"Unless you want to blow the place open, yeah."

"Sweet!" squeaked a high-pitched voice – Ian was home. Our diminutive compatriot bounced into the room enthusiastically, rapidly telling everyone all the possible scenarios he could create that would end in a large very boom.

"Effective, but not very subtle," Julia interrupted diplomatically. "If we're going to get your friends out alive, the mobsters have to **not** know that we are there."

"What do you suggest we **do**," I spat back, completely fed up with all the talking. I needed to be out on the road, accomplishing something. All this talking was driving me nuts.

Hilary gave me a silencing look as she propped up a large drawing pad in front of us. On it was a basic layout of what I assumed was Boris's base. She began tracing action paths through the map while explaining what we each were supposed to do.

"Ok, listen up. Kenny needs to hook into their internal system to find the exact location of our targets. Tala, I know you're injured, so you will cover him – you shouldn't get into too much trouble that way."

"But—" I started to protest, but she cut me off.

"Spencer will remain outside as back-up. Bryan and Max will head to the garage. There will probably be a heavy guard but it still should be easier to get at Kai in transit, so we'll try to catch him en route to the vehicles."

"I'm going with them," Miguel said firmly.

Max smiled up at the taller blond. "You can ride with me. My racer has enough room."

"Fine. Mystel and Rei will infiltrate the interior of the complex with Ian. It seems likely that Raul will be held near the center, close to where Boris is located."

"I have to be there," I insisted, standing.

"Are you sure?" Rei asked. "We're taking the vent system. You might not fit."

"Then I'll go on the ground."

"Could be dangerous," Hilary stated. "And we need you here." She pointed at my dot near the exterior.

"Look, girly," I argued, stepping right up to her so I towered over the girl. "I am not sitting by on the sidelines. I don't care about your plan, I'm going in there and getting Raul and Kai out."

"Listen, hothead," she threw back, apparently unimpressed. "If you screw up the plan, then we may not be able to rescue your friends. You're injured—"

"I'm **fine**!"

"—And you'll be no use to anyone dead. Rei's team will be hidden and actually able to penetrate the interior without being detected."

"That's what we're good for," Mystel said cheerfully. I glared at him. Rei stepped in front of him, glaring back.

"This is our **only chance**," Hilary concluded decisively. "Don't let your stupid pride wreck it."

"I am **not**—"

A large firm hand gripped my shoulder. "Tala, please," Spencer implored, his voice soothing and low. "Why don't you go calm down for a while? Get something to eat."

"I don't need to **calm down**!"

But Brooklyn was walking toward the entrance of the den and Spencer followed. "Please continue without us," he told Hilary politely as he dragged me through the door, ignoring my curses and protests.

--------

"I'm not hungry," I complained moodily. Spencer and Brooklyn had escorted me to the kitchen to cool off, and Spencer was looking for input on what to serve for dinner.

"Brooklyn?" he asked.

The other redhead approached Spencer with soft steps, laying a hand on the blonde's muscular arm and looking with him at the contents of our kitchen. They began discussing dinner plans in a homey manner.

I glanced toward the door, wondering if I could make a break for it before they noticed. Without even glancing in my direction, Spencer called, "Tala, **sit**."

Huffing, I folded my arms over my chest and glared at the back of Spencer's broad shoulders. He caught my eye briefly before returning his attention to Brooklyn.

And so it continued for half an hour as they prepared dinner for a dozen people and I refused to help.

I remained stubbornly uncommunicative through the loud, chaotic ordeal that was dinner, barely moving or taking any notice of the crowd around me. My mind fixated on how skinny Raul was as I stared at the plate set before me, which I did not touch, despite Brooklyn's encouragement that I eat and Bryan's threat to steal my food. He and Ian ended up splitting it.

Fed up with the all the insanity of having twelve people in my space, I stalked away deeper into our base, trying to avoid all human contact. The kitchen, garage and den were all occupied and people kept running through the halls on their way to and from fetching things that they would need for our rescue mission. My search for quiet eventually I brought me to my own room.

I slammed the door shut and dropped onto my bed, gazing with half-lidded eyes at one corner and window. A small amount of light was seeping into my unlit room from the streetlights outside, providing slight illumination to the dark decorations adorning the walls. I stared blankly at a half-lit poster of an old metal band, then let my eyes drift shut.

--------

"Tala."

An insistent knock on the door disturbed my sleep; I rolled onto my stomach and grumbled, not awake enough to reply. The knock sounded again.

"Tala, we're leaving."

"Goh'way," I protested thickly. The door opened.

"Rescue mission T-minus two," Bryan teased, throwing something onto the bed next to me. I blinked a few times, then rubbed my face vigorously with both hands, trying to eradicate the sleepiness from my brain.

"What?"

"Man, we're out of here! I thought you'd be the first one ready."

"Oh," I replied, sitting up. My hand met the thing that Bryan had thrown at me, which turned out to be my riding jacket. I picked it up. "Yeah, let's go."

He was already gone as I stumbled to my feet, trying to stretch and yawn and walk at the same time. I pulled my jacket over my arms, temporarily hiding sleep-dazed eyes in the worn leather sleeves.

Walking with my eyes closed was of course a bad idea, as I managed to collide with someone. "Ya ok there, Red?" Ian joked, adjusting his hold on the armful of explosives he was carrying.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said flatly, firmly. "Let's get moving."

------

When I first thought up this story idea, none of this happened. Tala chased down and rescued Raul himself, and Kai and the others were not involved. But you know how stories get more complicated than you mean them too… part of the reason this chapter took so long. The other main reason of course was that I was busy, and I didn't know what was going to happen or how to get there so I stopped writing for a long time. Sorry!

Yes, the Breakers are a spy network now. How does that work? Hilary uses her boyfriend Tyson as cover to get into certain locations. He's famous, so they get invited places, and very loud, so he causes a distraction for her so she can slip off and do reconnaissance. He of course has no idea what she does because his mouth is so big he would blow the secret in a second.

I know this wasn't what you wanted, but I hope it wasn't too boring. Hope to hear from you! The next chapter, with all the excitement, is underway.

VVVVV


	5. The Rescue

**Disclaimer:** characters by Aoki Takao, Beyblade Project, etc.

**Warning**: Fighting, explosions, hurt, terror.

**Reviews: ** Thank you to Rapunzelle, Party in the Afterlife, Elemental Gypsy, and Tenshi of Freedom!

**Author's Note**: Sorry about the delay, again. I'm not close enough to the inspiration of the story to write it all out at once, and having to start over again every half page makes a lot of work keeping it from becoming choppy and incoherent.

I didn't end up with as much character involvement as I expected, but then, Tala does like to work alone (gah trying to remember my own story descriptions XD). This story was supposed to be four chapters…

**------**_**OUT OF MY CONTROL**_**------**

_by destinykitty_

------**Part 5**------

**The Rescue**

The ride to our destination was uneventful; as it was past eleven, there were few other people awake and about, and those who were out were much too intent on their own destructive pursuits to notice a small convoy of vehicles leaving our base.

Hilary remained behind to coordinate our movements from afar. Each of us wore a tracker and a headset so we could communicate and so she could follow our movements if we lost the headset or were captured or anything else interesting happened.

Because of our various objectives we took separate routes to our enemy's base. The Chief was afraid of motorcycles and had computer equipment to drag along so I was stuck driving one of the small cars instead of my motorbike. Spencer took an alternate path in a van that doubled as a mobile medical unit, so everything necessary was readily available in case of emergency. Julia and Brooklyn had tagged along with him in case he needed extra hands or a driver during the get-away.

Rei, Mystel and Ian were following us at a distance while Bryan and Max, with Miguel riding, took another route. They were to start their part of the mission last, after Kenny had located our targets and Rei's team was well on their way to finding Raul.

It was a relief to ditch the ridiculous little car and start our adventure. On foot we had to be careful of who saw us; sneaking through the cold night air toward our enemy's base was exciting in itself, even if my path had to be easy enough for my companion to keep up. I was disappointed at how easy it was to reach the roof of Boris's complex and find an access port that allowed us to infiltrate the interior. Once inside, we located an abandoned-looking corner and Kenny set about hacking into their system.

I wandered around the dusty room, evaluating our exits, finding good defense points, and listening to the clack of computer keys as the small brunette hacked into Boris's system. It took approximately ninety seconds for me to get bored.

Hilary's voice crackled in my earpiece, relaying information she had received from the diminutive Chief. "Ok Rei, Kenny's uploading an infrastructure map. Stand by for your entrance location."

_At least I can __**listen**__ to what's going on,_ I thought bitterly. My head fell back so I could stare at the ceiling, bitterly realizing that Rei was right to think that my broad shoulders would not fit through the narrow ventilation shafts in this building.

_I still could have made it on foot. I can defend myself._

This idea passed idly through my mind at first, but as the minutes dragged on, the thought of getting out there and actually **doing something** began to feel more and more necessary. I couldn't decide whether it was better to be able to hear my compatriots as they ventured into their missions, relaying little tid-bits like Ian's exclamation over some convenient drop-hole in the pipe he was crawling down, or whether it would have been better to hear nothing. At least that way I would not be constantly teased by the fact that not far away my friends were nearing danger and excitement while I was stuck in a dirty old storage closet where the most interesting thing that had happened yet was when a rat climbed out of a cardboard box.

Minutes crawled by as my frustration mounted. Agitatedly I wandered farther and farther from my post, until eventually I found a main hallway. Catching the echo of approaching voices I ducked out of sight, listening intently. Their first distinct words arrested my attention instantly: "—Heard the kid's awake."

"The boss got him?" a second voice huffed in reply.

"Yeah."

I heard a chuckle, then, "He'll soon be wishing he never woke up."

"Or he never ran away."

"Yeah, the boss was pissed."

They lapsed into a thoughtful silence which only lasted a few seconds because their brains were so tiny. One commented idly, "Guess we won't see him around anymore."

"Yeah, whatever. I'll just be glad to see the wildcat go. Glad those damn Russians had to deal with him."

"Serves 'em right," his companion agreed.

As the heavy footsteps faded away, anger and – as much as I didn't want to admit it – fear overwhelmed me. Kai was at the sole mercy of Voltare's brutes and Boris was going to kill Raul for running away, just as the kid had been afraid he would.

Heart pounding, I raced back to the storage room where I had left Kenny. "Where are they?"

--------

My boots thudded relentlessly against the floors of the hallway, regardless of the noise I was making. Frantic voices rang in my ear, telling me how stupid I was to go in alone, how I was singlehandedly jeopardizing the mission and probably ruining all hope of success, endangering the lives of all our operatives and targets. I ignored the buzz of the intercom, angrily yanking the ear bud out of my ear. _They don't understand,_ I thought fiercely. _I can't sit back and wait any longer. _ The ear bud bounced erratically against my heaving chest.

I was not being completely reckless. I had called Spencer to pick up Kenny, interrupting a report from Mystel that he and Rei had hit a dead end and lost track of Ian. Their predicament had almost managed to distract Hilary from the fact that I was ditching my post, but only for a moment.

Her disapproval didn't matter. All that was important was to find Raul, then Kai, as quickly as possible.

As soon as my intentions had been broadcasted in a screech over the intercom by Hilary, Bryan also decided it was time to mobilize in his team. As least there would be someone else in the building that I knew I could count on.

I swung 'round a corner indicated in the hurried directions I had demanded from Kenny and ran into my first adversary. Luckily with both speed and surprise on my side I quickly left him sprawled on the floor in my wake. I was getting close. Now was not the time to stop. I pushed myself harder.

Almost at the center of the complex I stumbled upon a group of guards. I fought frantically and managed in my frenzied panic to fell several of them. A few blows struck me. I kept moving, dragging the fight in the direction of a large door at the end of the hall.

I heard a muffled cry and a sharp crack and hurled myself at the door, shouting Raul's name. The door gave, swinging inward and I rushed inside.

The first thing I saw was Raul sprawled on the floor, motionless. My heart stopped – I was sure he was dead. A menacing cackle from the corner yanked my attention from the small prone form just in time for me to throw myself out of the way. A bullet ripped through the air where moments before my head had been.

The harsh voice behind that shot sneered, "You're the only one here to stand up to me? Pathetic."

"What have you done to him?" I shouted, leaping at the man from my defensive position. He had killed Raul. I was going to tear him apart.

He was a big man and strong but I was blind-mad, hell-bent on inflicting damage. I grappled with him, keeping the revolver in his hand pointed away from me and from Raul. I didn't want him to hurt the boy any more, even if he was already dead.

A faintly familiar buzzing against my skin alerted me that my friends were trying to get my attention, but I ignored it. I didn't care what they wanted. I was going to kill Boris even if I died in the attempt.

Then a weak, faltering query cut short all my resolutions and morbidities.

"T...ala…?"

With a sudden frightful burst of energy I threw Boris away from me; he stumbled backwards as I flung myself to Raul's side, pulling him into my arms. From his bruised, bloodied face, half-open emerald green eyes gazed uncertainly up at me, as though he almost did not recognize me or believe that I was really there. They closed as he coughed weakly.

I stifled a sob, burying my face in his shoulder, cradling his petite body against my chest.

The boy stiffened and I looked up to see if I had hurt him, but his eyes were fixed behind me. My gaze followed his to find Boris a few feet away, gun pointed in our direction.

I clutched Raul closer to me, shielding him from Boris's view, placing myself between them. I was at a loss for what I could do to save us now; our situation was hopeless.

The mob boss sneered at us, at me. "So this is how you choose to go? Very well then."

I watched his finger tighten on the trigger of the gun as though in slow motion. Then the room exploded.

I lept to my feet as sections of the devastated ceiling rained down around us; one quick glance showed that the back of the room had been destroyed. Boris groaned. Without stopping to look at him, thinking only of the safety of the small boy in my arms, I fled.

--------

The shocked guards put up very little resistance as I carried Raul away from the exploding core of the building. Several more bombs had detonated after the first and most people were running for their lives. The escape of one intruder and one prisoner no longer mattered.

It occurred to me that the familiar buzz I had felt earlier was Ian's signal; during missions it was his way of warning us that he was about to blow something up. I silently thanked the little monkey for his effective timing.

My feet carried us without conscious direction, and it occurred to me that we might be lost. Then moments later a huge open space opened before me: the garage.

"Tala!"

My head snapped to the source of the anxious call; recognizing wild blond hair, I ducked into the small space Miguel was occupying as a defensive position.

"What are you doing here?" I asked urgently as my eyes quickly scanned our chaotic surroundings – everywhere mobsters were mounting and fighting over vehicles, fleeing the complex as it continued to explode and burn.

"Bryan moved in early and we followed but after the explosions I lost sight of Max and told him to get out of here. Tala, Kai's gone, they took him already!"

"Damn," I hissed. My searching eyes caught sight of what I was half-consciously looking for: a motorcycle. Turning to Miguel I hurriedly explained, "I'm getting us out of here. Hold him."

Miguel accepted charge of Raul's barely conscious form unquestioningly and I bolted for my target. The bike's intended rider never saw me coming before I slammed headlong into him, sending us both sprawling across the floor. It only took a few seconds for me to wrestle him into submission, and I grabbed the keys. Jumping on the bike I yelled for Miguel.

The blond dashed towards me as I revved the bike to life. I briefly helped him settle Raul between us as he climbed on the back half of the long seat, then gunned the motor and sent us racing for an open garage door. Shoving my earpiece back in its place, I shouted for Spencer.

My friend answered immediately, reassuring me that he was just around the corner. I sped the motorbike towards the overlarge doorway.

As soon as we were clear of the wildly chaotic garage I shot a bee-line toward Spencer, relief flooding my mind as I caught sight of the medic van. Breaking abruptly I called to my friend as he appeared from inside.

"Spencer! Help me, he's hurt!"

I didn't know how badly wounded Raul was; all I knew was that Spencer's eyes widened noticeably when he caught sight of the boy. That was a bad sign. "You can save him, right?" I begged as Spencer called for a stretcher. Brooklyn and Julia rushed to fetch the mobile bed.

"I will do my best, Tala," he replied gently.

I wanted reassurance; I wanted certainly. I placed my hand on Raul's arm; he was limp, unresponsive, lying against Miguel. Avoiding the blonde's sympathetic gaze I saw Julia trying to hide tears.

"I'll do everything I can," Spencer reassured again as he settled Raul on the stretcher, the pink-haired boy dwarfed by my friend's giant frame. One of his large hands caught my shoulder and squeezed it comfortingly, bracingly. "Now you go and finish the mission."

I stared at the ground for a moment, letting my fear and concern heat into anger, conviction, clarity of purpose. After a few moments, my eyes burning, I turned to Miguel.

"Ready to save Kai?" I asked fiercely.

Distressed, hopeful, Miguel nodded.

"Let's do this."

--------

Boris's dialogue is so lame XDD Next chapter is when they save Kai!

**VVVVV**


	6. The Chase

**Disclaimer:** characters by Aoki Takao, Beyblade Project, etc.

**Warning**: Swearing, explosions, terror… then it's all over.

**Reviews: ** Thank you to Party in the Afterlife, Rapunzelle, and Elemental Gypsy!

**Author's Note**: Thank you all for being patient. It's shorter than I wanted, but I hope it is worth the wait.

**------**_**OUT OF MY CONTROL**_**------**

_by destinykitty_

------**Part 6**------

**The Chase**

Kai's captors had a head start of several minutes between time lost before I found Miguel and while we saw Raul to safety. But I had the advantage of a fast bike, years of experience in trick riding, and the burning conviction that tonight's mission was not over.

Fueled by one success, I anticipated another with single-minded determination.

When he heard I was coming Bryan eagerly told me to get my ass into the race; he was keeping up with the convoy but didn't mind the thought of back-up. I knew this was as good as a cry for help from him but that he would hold his own until we caught up. I wondered briefly whether Max was still with him, but since I had lost the mouthpiece of my intercom, I didn't ask. My headphones didn't seem to be working well either, and Miguel no longer had his.

Hilary grudgingly gave me the coordinates of the retreating road race as I quickly sped away from Spencer's van. The burning wreck of Boris's complex was already lost behind us, though the sound of emergency sirens permeated the air over the loud whine of our engine. I gunned the stolen bike faster.

"Hold on!" I shouted to my rider, unnecessarily; Miguel had a tight grip under my bruised ribs. He nodded briefly, squinting into the sharp wind thrown up by the speeding bike. Neither of us was wearing helmets. I hoped we would not need them.

I stepped on the gas and the motorcycle shot toward the highway.

Speeding through the city under the enveloping darkness of night is something I normally find relaxing, soothing. Often I ride at this time to take my mind off the complexities of life. Now I allowed all my thoughts and worries to fall away, left behind in the dust of the road. All that remained was one solid purpose: rescuing Kai.

Bryan's voice crackled over the intercom, directed at me. I tuned in and he gave me a very brief explanation of the chase, then told me to go north. I was to head off the convoy and try to stop them before they got much farther. Every passing minute put Kai's life in greater danger – if Voltaire's mobsters managed to escape the city and our sights, it would be nearly impossible to catch up with them again or find Kai before he ended up back in Russia. Getting him away from Voltaire would be a nightmare of a task.

It was on a curving stretch of road we found our target. The armored truck was alone; either Bryan had managed to take out its escorts, or the others had fallen back to keep my friend away from the main prize. Clearly a fierce battle was raging; there was a gaping hole in one side of the vehicle where the back door had been ripped off. I could only imagine the kind of maneuver Bryan had thought up to cause that much damage to the armored truck. As I sized up our target, a dark-clad man leaned out of the hole, firing several warning shots in our direction.

I hate being shot at, and luckily for me, the motorcycle I had stolen from Boris's garage came equipped with a selection of firearms. I grabbed a long handled pistol and flicked the safety catch.

"Hold this thing steady!" I shouted at Miguel, leveling the gun at our target as I stood up in my seat.

"No, don't! What if you hit Kai?"

"It's an armored truck, damn it! Just drive!"

Ducking around me Miguel did as I had ordered, holding us at a relatively straight course. I cocked the gun and shot, hitting one of the rear tires of the SUV. It swerved erratically as the driver fought to compensate for the sudden loss of control, and more gunshots whistled through the air around us and ricocheted off the concrete. I aimed again, missing the other rear tire as the driver rounded a turn.

"Follow them!" I shouted, but I knew Miguel couldn't drive properly from behind me. Jumping down I shoved the gun at him, barking at him to hold it as I again took control of the steering. Almost past the turn, I banked sharply to follow the escaping SUV. Miguel clutched at my leather jacket, holding on for dear life.

The driver of the escaping vehicle must have been paying most of his attention to us because as I swung around that corner, barely keeping the motor bike in control, it was to watch another vehicle nearly run headlong into the side of the armored car. Both turned sharply so they merely sideswiped each other, but from the force of impact I knew that each had suffered significant body damage. The armored car was listing badly. The other had lost its front bumper.

I glanced inside to realize the new vehicle was being driven by Bryan. He gave us a cheeky wave as a shred of relief graced my mind. We had back-up.

Bryan's voice, always most intense in the heat of battle, crackled in my ear. Through the damaged head piece I could barely make out his words.

"Get out in front and make some obstacles! We'll deal with this thing back here!"

Raising a hand to relay my understanding, I gunned the already straining engine of the motor bike and shot forward to pass the armored truck.

I was uncertain how much damage we could do on a bike – it would be much easier in a car to knock things loose into the road – but somehow we had managed to drive into a construction area. Numerous signs, cones, and barriers were available for easy disruption.

I started swerving back and forth across the roadway, preventing the SUV from passing us or getting in a clear shot, sideswiping various potential road blocks. On the back of the bike Miguel was twisting around, trying to watch the battle going on behind us. I had to catch us abruptly as his bodyweight shifted and the bike nearly bit the dust.

"Miguel, knock it off! Are you trying to kill us?"

"Tala, Kai—"

I glanced in a rear view mirror and saw a vaguely familiar blue convertible catching up with the SUV, pulling alongside the damaged truck opposite Bryan. "He'll be fine!" I shouted back. "Help me!"

Terrified – I could feel his chest heaving against my back – Miguel turned forward. He was still too distracted by the fight going on behind us to be of much use, but at least it was easier to steer without him hanging off the side. I glanced in the mirror again to assess the situation.

There was a small blonde behind the wheel of the blue racer who I quickly realized must be Max. He was pulling in tight beside the damaged truck, trapping the crippled vehicle between Bryan and himself. I saw a lithe purple-headed monkey shoot up out of the back seat and into the SUV through the hole where the door was missing; Ian was up to more trouble.

I turned back to driving just in time to bank sharply; concrete barriers blocked off the road in front of us, forcing a detour across a bridge. Something large and dark fell from the SUV as Max's car slipped out of sight and a garbled "Igottem!" crackled over my broken headset. The SUV veered hastily to follow the road; Bryan fell back as a familiar buzzing against my chest alerted me to the new plan. I stomped on the gas, trying to put as much distance between us and the armored car as possible before—

A massive explosion rocked the bridge.

"Kai, no! Go back!" Miguel screamed as I rocketed away from the exploding SUV. I ignored him, trying to dodge the larger bits of molten metal raining down around us. Only after we'd achieved a safe distance of a few hundred yards did I stop the bike abruptly, turning to survey the wreck.

Parts of the bridge were on fire. Chunks of twisted car parts were scattered in a wide circle from the point where the bomb must have exploded, demolishing the armored vehicle from inside.

Miguel struggled off the bike, almost too overcome with terror to command his own body. Between gasps I could hear him whimpering desperately, "Kai, no, no, please, Kai…." Barely coherent, he stumbled toward the fire.

I almost followed the distraught blonde but was cut off as Bryan's half-burnt wreck of a car screeched up next to me, followed by Max's light blue racer. My manic silver-haired friend jumped out of the driver's seat, whooping , "Now that was worth the night out! Right, Ian?"

Our smaller compatriot agreed immediately, grinning in a self-satisfied way that only followed one of his truly spectacular explosions. He turned to the convertible out of which he had catapulted himself, waving to the young blond driver climbing out of the driver seat. "Max! What did you think?"

Max didn't respond. Instead he turned back to his racer and gently helped a bruised, rumpled, newly freed blue-haired teen from the back seat.

Clutching Max's arm unsteadily, Kai surveyed the scene before him with less than his usual alertness. His dazed, anxious crimson eyes passed over me, to Bryan and Ian, then to Miguel. In a quiet, hoarse voice he called his lover's name.

Miguel's blond head jerked around at the sound of that soft voice; catching sight of Kai standing beside Max's racer, he immediately bolted for him. Kai staggered forward at a fast limp, throwing his arms over Miguel's shoulders as the blonde caught him in a fierce embrace.

"Oh my god, Kai…" I heard Miguel sob as they clung to each other as closely as possible. Kai's face was buried in Miguel's shoulder, but as his lover choked on another harsh sob Kai pulled the blond head against his neck, momentarily revealing tear-streaked crimson eyes.

The couple sank to the ground, rocking slightly, but not enough to cover their continued shuddering as both struggled with tears of intermingled fear and relief. One of Kai's hands left Miguel's broad shoulder to run along the back of his head; when Miguel gave an uncomfortable twitch, I realized he had been seeking the place where Miguel had been struck, assessing the damage done.

"Are you alright?" I heard my friend ask. His lover gave a hoarse bark of a laugh in answer.

"Does it matter? I thought you were dead."

"I'm fine, Miguel, really."

"I was so afraid that I'd lost you," Miguel whispered fiercely. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if—"

Kai apparently didn't want to think about what could have happened, for he turned and caught Miguel's lips with his own, abruptly silencing the blonde's desolate train of thought. His lover immediately responded, deepening the kiss and enveloping Kai in the shadow of his larger body.

I turned away to give them privacy, scuffing the ground with the toe of my boot. Waves of elation were still pouring from Bryan and Ian's general direction as my manic friends congratulated each other and verbally replayed highlights of the chase, but I didn't quite feel like celebrating. Something was missing, though I didn't know what it was. The thought worried me slightly.

"Hey," a soft voice called.

I looked up to see baby blue eyes turned toward me; Max was standing halfway between me and his car. He smiled and asked, "Want to give me a hand with this thing?"

I watched him indicate the drop top of the convertible and found myself nodding. "Yeah, sure."

--------

Remind me never to get into writing action movies or stories. Please review!

**VVVVV**


	7. The Return

**Disclaimer:** Characters by Aoki Takao, Beyblade Project, etc.

**Warning**: Fluff, innuendo.

**Reviews: ** Thank you to Tenshi of Freedom, Rapunzelle, Blaze Queenie, Party in the Afterlife, and Elemental Gypsy!

**Author's Note**: I wrote most of the chapter (except the beginning) before I even wrote the battle scenes. I knew where I was going, just not how to get there! But that's all over now…. If I did anything more I wouldn't have any readers; it sounds like you'd all die of suspense or heart attacks.

Never fear for the injured parties! Spencer has worked his magic, and would like to assure you that they're fine. They really weren't as badly hurt as Tala may have thought, though I'm sure everyone involved in this party has a fair number of bruises, especially Kai and Raul. They'll be ok, though.

**------**_**OUT OF MY CONTROL**_**------**

_by destinykitty_

------**Part 7**------

**The Return**

I helped Kai climb into the back seat of Max's little racer and into Miguel's open arms, waved a vague goodbye to Bryan and Ian as they assumed a protective proximity to the blue convertible, and watched my friends drive away. I was not ready to return home yet. Too much had happened in the past half-day, and I needed time to internalize and unwind.

I turned my ride toward the open road and kicked it to life.

Miles of blacktop passed beneath the tires of the stolen cycle as I inattentively drove through the night. Thoughts, half-formed and transient, flitted over the surface of my mind, but I paid very little attention to them. Feeling had consumed my being entirely, and as I did not often tackle such an insubstantial opponent, I found the troublesome predicament difficult to resolve.

Finally, as dawn was breaking over the far reaches of the horizon, I turned back toward headquarters. I had arrived at a self-reproachful conclusion: all that happened yesterday was basically my fault, and therefore I should remove myself from the vicinity of those people who were important to me before I caused them any more grief and pain.

I parked the stolen motorbike in our garage as quietly as I could, climbing off it wearily. The long ride and the previous day's fight and rescue mission had left me stiff and sore, but the resolution to eradicate my ill-fated presence from my friends' lives gave me a slight boost of bitter energy. If all went well, I would be long gone before they even woke up. Sleep would have to wait.

I passed an appraising eye along the comfortably familiar shape of my black motorcycle parked nearby, drawing comfort from the sleek lines and the memories of many tough places that bike had helped me escape. At least this was one friend I would not have to leave behind, and which could not begrudge me the trouble that seemed to choke my path of life. I sighed. Shrugging off my leather jacket, I tossed it over the handlebars and slumped off to my bedroom.

It took very little time to throw extra clothes and all the money I could find into a travel bag as well as a few small but significant items: the cell phone I rarely used, the fake ID that I used to escape Russia, the comb and gel so necessary for achieving the demonic spikes I liked styled into my hair. Glancing around the cramped, dark room, I knew I would not miss it. I had no memories of any significance that were tied up with this nondescript space.

I swung out into the hallway and nearly collided with an unexpected obstacle.

"Tala!" Bryan exclaimed more loudly than necessary in the otherwise quiet hallway, stepping back unsteadily. One quick look told me that he had been celebrating in his favorite manner: hard liquor. He threw an arm over my shoulder, still exuberant from our success.

"That was one good night, huh?" he grinned, offering me the vodka. I pushed the bottle away and shrugged.

"What, ya in a bad mood again? Pissy redhead…" he complained in a tone that he probably thought I couldn't hear. I rolled my eyes, trying to escape from under his arm, and he caught sight of my travel bag. "Where are you going?"

"I donno – I have to get out of here," I mumbled, not meeting his eyes.

Bryan was silent for a few moments as he tried to fathom my reasoning, but then he shrugged and gave up. "Well, you'd better see Kai before you leave or he'll be pissed," he advised helpfully, letting go of me to take a swig out of the vodka bottle hanging from his fingers.

"I guess… you think he's in his room?" I called to Bryan's back as he started shambling down the hall, a low tune audible under his breath.

"Will be for the next week, I bet," Bryan grinned, making indecent bucking movements with his hips. Trying not to work out what he was referring to, I nevertheless grimaced as understanding struck me: where Kai was, Miguel must be also….

Exasperated with the unnecessary mental images Bryan had inflicted on me and sincerely hoping that I would not walk in on anything, I stopped outside the door of Kai and Miguel's room to listen tentatively for suggestive noises. Everything seemed quiet, other than the muffled snores from nearby rooms probably occupied by sleeping 'Breakers, so I dropped my bag and opened the door cautiously, ready to retreat at the first sign of movement.

The room was silent and relatively dark, with one dim light illuminating the bluenette and his lover in bed. Miguel was asleep with his face resting on Kai's chest and both strong arms wrapped around my friend's thin body. Kai's chin lay amidst Miguel's wild hair; his eyes were closed but one long-fingered hand gently combing through the blond locks showed that Kai was awake. Reluctant to interrupt such an intimate moment I turned to leave.

"Tala."

Kai's voice stopped me; I turned to find wine-red eyes turned in my direction. Kai looked tired but otherwise normal, at least normal for when he was with Miguel. I don't think most people beyond our set would ever imagine seeing such a soft expression on the teen's tattooed face.

"H-hey, Kai," I started awkwardly. "Um… how are you feeling?"

Kai shifted slightly under Miguel's arm, trying to sit up slightly; the bigger blond grumbled in his sleep and clasped Kai more tightly beside him. Giving up with a small smile, Kai murmured, "I'm alright."

"They didn't… do anything? Hurt you?"

Blue-gray spikes waved back and forth as Kai shook his head. "I imagine they were afraid to, with the threat of Voltaire's retaliation hanging over their heads."

"Mm," I agreed, scuffing the floor with my toe.

"How's Raul?" Kai asked gently.

I looked up at him quickly, then away again. "I— don't know. I haven't seen him since Spencer took over."

"Tala…" He gave me a searching look, then beckoned me closer. I approached reluctantly, kneeling beside the bed to meet his eyes.

"You don't have to blame yourself," he said softly, running his free hand over my shoulder comfortingly. I inhaled shakily, dropping my head onto his blanket so he couldn't see my face. He knew exactly what I was thinking anyway; he is extremely empathetic.

His hand smoothed over my tense shoulders again and I felt a ferocious wave of emotions sweep over me. "I failed," I croaked out.

"No, Tala; we're alright."

"I swore to protect him. I should have been able to keep both of you safe. I failed!"

"Tala, no one expects you to do everything on your own. They overwhelmed all of us, and used my weakness against me." He paused, his other arm tightening around Miguel's shoulders. "But you came back. You brought Miguel to me. You saved Raul. No one blames you for what happened before that. I know you would have come sooner if it would have helped; Spencer told me how hard it was to keep you here."

I almost smiled, but caught myself and buried my face in my arms on the bed, trying to resist being cheered up when I still felt that I deserved to be punished for my part causing all the trouble in the first place.

"I don't worry for myself, you know," Kai said softly, fingers smoothing over my shoulder again. "I never do. It is you I worry about, all of you, because I know you would do anything for me and I don't want to see anyone hurt on my account."

I looked up at him, my eyes burning. "I would never leave you in their hands."

"I know. You need to protect your friends. That is a good instinct."

"But I mess everything up! That's why I deserve to be alone!"

"No, Tala. Everyone makes mistakes. But if you leave us, that will be a very big mistake."

I stared at him. "How did you know…?"

He rolled his eyes slightly. "Tala, you're an open book. You know that, right?"

Laughing gently at my bemused expression, he gave me a friendly shove. "Now go! There is someone waiting for you and I don't want to be the one keeping you away from him."

"Yeah," I agreed vaguely, standing. When I reached the door he called me again. "What?"

"_Go_ to him," he emphasized. "I don't want to hear that you were scared to face a tiny kid. I'm sure Bryan would mock you about it forever."

"Yeah, ok, whatever," I replied. "And I am _not_ scared!"

------

Of course to tell the truth, I _was_ rather worried. I didn't have any idea what I would find in the medic ward near Spencer's room. I had carried Raul out of Boris's headquarters, but there had been so much going on that I never really thought about how seriously injured he might be. Then Miguel and I ran off to save Kai and left Raul in better hands.

I knew that he had been pale and tired and cold and hurt, I just didn't know how badly.

Standing at the door to the room that housed Spencer's collection of medical equipment, which I hoped was not being used, I caught myself hesitating. I was very worried about what I would see and almost wanted to turn and run now. But Kai's teasing words stuck in my head, and I realized that he had probably said that to motivate me in case I faltered. _He does know me too well, _I thought as my hand gripped the doorknob in front of me.

I pushed the door open, wincing as it made a tiny noise in the silent dimness. Peaking around its edge, I let my eyes adjust to the soft lighting of the small ward.

A high bed dominated the center of the room in the middle of a vast array of machinery. Several of these contraptions appeared by tiny bright lights to be plugged in, but none were disturbing the peace of the gloomy room with any noise. I breathed easier, taking the lack of beeps and flashes as a good sign. Creeping closer to the bed I looked down on its half-hidden occupant.

Dwarfed by the oversized bed and curled on his side with his thin back toward me, Raul appeared to be smaller than ever. Bandages wound around his head and adorned the few visible areas of skin not cloaked in warm blankets. Afraid that I would wake him, afraid that he would break, I settled a hand gently on his shoulder.

He shrank away from my touch, though I wasn't sure whether this was a conscious or an instinctive movement. I pulled my hand away, gazing at him uncertainly.

"I'm sorry," I muttered. Maybe it _would_ be better if I left. He had seen enough trouble already; surely he didn't need me causing him more grief. I always create problems for people….

Sighing, I moved towards the door, then stopped. If I left, who would take care of him?

_Kai will take care of everything,_ I reasoned with myself. _He always does._

I folded my arms over my chest, wishing briefly that I could be anything like Kai. He is so caring, so thoughtful, so wise and strong. He can handle any situation. All I'm good for is brute force, but Bryan and Spencer are better fighters than I am. And yet Spencer is gentle and understanding. Even Ian has his own special niche. He had certainly made escaping interesting under the cover of all those explosions.

Bryan is a psycho but he doesn't care what anyone else thinks anyway. I need people, but I am so bad for them. That's why I _have_ to avoid people, especially those that I care for. I took another step toward the door, then glanced back at the bed.

I wanted to protect Raul; I wanted to know that he was safe. But I was realizing that _I_ was the one from whom he had to be protected. Without me around, he might be able to recover and lead a normal life.

I turned to leave and almost tripped over a small girl just entering the room. She looked tiredly up at me through gold bangs starkly different in color from the long brown hair falling down her back.

"What are you doing here?" her high voice challenged.

"I just, uh, came to see how Raul was doing. I'm going now."

"Oh…" she trailed off. "You're Tala, right?"

I nodded, stepping out into the hallway.

"He was asking for you."

I glanced up at the quiver in her voice to see that the girl had tears in her eyes; she brushed them aside hastily as she confessed, "I didn't think I would ever see him again."

"What do you mean?" I breathed, instantly worried that she might be connected to Raul in some intimate manner that would supersede my care for him, the budding relationship that moments before I had been ready to abandon.

"He was stolen off the streets when we lived alone, and I couldn't find him. He's my twin brother, you know. I haven't seen him in two years."

"Oh," I replied, feeling a little silly as relief swept through my insides, leaving me dizzy and weak. I leaned an arm against the doorframe, resting my head in the bend of my elbow, hiding my eyes in the fabric of my sleeve. I suddenly felt intensely tired.

"Thank you," ventured Julia's hesitant voice.

"Hm?" I murmured, pulling away from the wall. If I stood still for much longer I was going to fall asleep on my feet.

"For saving him. Those months of not knowing where he is were awful, but finding out that he's in serious danger was much worse." She bit her lip, glancing into the medic ward. Her shoulders were drooping with exhaustion.

"Why aren't you asleep?" I asked impulsively.

She turned to me, expression showing a bit of Hilary's annoying conviction that I was a complete idiot. "I told Spencer I would keep an eye on Raul."

"I'm here."

"But aren't you going somewhere?" she continued, eyeing my bag.

"I changed my mind." Perhaps it was the thought of someone else being there with him that made me feel possessive of Raul, pushing me to stay. Fighting for him had certainly strengthened my attachment and concern.

We heard a low whimper and both turned to see Raul stirring. Julia rushed to his side, leaving me at the door. I approached slowly, again hesitant.

Julia was fretfully asking Raul questions to which he did not respond. Instead he cried quietly, "Where's Tala?"

"I'm here," I answered immediately, stepping up to the other side of the bed and again placing a hand gently on his shoulder. He turned to face me, seeking comfort. "I dreamed you went away."

"Sshh, I'm right here," I murmured, smoothing his messy hair with one hand, my guts twisting apologetically. If I left, would he get even weaker?

He caught my hand, sliding it under his cheek as he rolled over to face me. "Don't leave," he pleaded tiredly.

"Raul, are you going to be ok with him here?" Julia interrupted rather unnecessarily.

Raul nodded, eyes closed as though he was about to fall back asleep on my hand. The girl glanced at me, then gave a short nod. "Fine. I'll leave you two alone."

"Close the door, will you?" I asked as she exited. She glanced at me, momentarily scandalized, then sighed and did as I had requested.

Raul's eyes opened as he felt me move, watching me climb onto the big bed next to him. He shifted backwards a bit to give me space, sighing serenely as I pulled him into my arms. The pink-haired head settled lightly on my arm as he wiggled up close to my side.

"Promise you'll stay," he said again, clearly worried about being abandoned.

I sighed. He had good reason to worry, though I could not guess how he knew that I meant to leave. Shifting to lie on my back, Raul's head resting on my shoulder, I quietly promised, "I will do my best."

Thought I had not responded as he asked, my small acquiescence seemed to be enough for now. The small boy was soon comfortably asleep in my arms.

I wasn't sure what I could honestly promise him, but somewhere in my mind, a tiny, hopeful bubble of thought wondered whether, with Raul at my side, my luck might just change for the better.

------

The next chapter will be the wrap-up, and the end of this story. That will make it twice as long as I expected, at least in number of chapters.

**VVVVV**


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